Kitchen Common Sense, Healthy Choices and the Garden

Kitchen Common Sense: Burns

Greetings!  Tonight's blog is brought to you by Burn Free, which would have been extremely useful last night if I could have found either bottle I know are here.  I have no idea where they ended up when we moved.  I may break down and buy another one.

As anyone who has worked in a kitchen (or curled their hair, flat ironed their hair, etc.) can tell you, burns are part of the game. Those who knows me very well can tell you: I am exceptionally burn prone.  My last foray into burn action (before last night) involved hot vegan butter, a persnickety whisk and exceptionally bad/good luck; good luck it missed my eye (thank you glasses!), bad luck it was just shy of a third degree burn.

For those who are are unlucky enough to burn themselves, here are some tips:

1. DON'T put ice on the burn; I know it seems intuitive, super hot to treat super cold, but the extreme ice will do more damage.  Run your appendage under cold water, or use a clean cloth soaked in water if holding the burn under water is awkward (like, you know, your face).  Get cold on it FAST, the longer it sits the deeper the burn.
2. If there is a blister, DON'T pop it.  Leave it intact as long as possible.  That blister is all that stands between your damaged dermis and bacteria.  If it pops, go from there.  Remove the loose skin and keep it clean.  Don't use peroxide or rubbing alcohol; warm, soapy water will do just fine. 
3. Burn cream:  I mentioned Burn Free; as a person who's used it for everything from sunburn to skin-gone-oh-great-gods-what-happened burns, it is worth every penny.  Most burn creams are designed to pull the heat from the burn to prevent further damage; there is a huge variety, so take a look!  I plan on putting one in my kitchen...whether found or purchased...because last night proved it needs to live in the kitchen.  As an added bonus, it smells like Tea Tree Oil.
4. First aid cream: after my epic burn, I looked for something other than neosporin.  I'm not vain by nature, and given options between a scar and infection, I'll take a scar any day.  That being said, I wanted something that had more of a lotion quality...that's where the tattoo cream came in.  A tattoo is basically a large open wound.  Most shops will give you A&D ointment.  I hate the smell of A&D.  At a past tattoo convention we found a booth with some all natural cream from H2Ocean; let me tell you, this stuff was killer for tattoos (the tightness while it's healing, the itchy, peeling stage...the whole shebang).  As it turns out, it is also killer for burns, two to three days post burn and beyond.  I have NO scar, no mark what-so-ever...and with how bad the burn was it's impressive.  Be careful what you put on your burns, lotion may sound like a good idea but it could cause infection.  Google/Bing/etc. your options!!
5. If it is serious, or you think it is serious, don't mess with it!  If you feel like your burn is serious, or is in a sensitive area, call your local ER or clinic.  If in doubt, seek medical help!!  

Best course of action is not to burn yourself!  If it does happen, take care of it!!

Healthy Choices

My goals this year include cutting out processed food...which includes soda.  The last six weeks I've had clear sodas only; no coke/diet coke/coke zero.  The "clear" ones (Sprite, Sierra Mist, Ginger Ale) I've had maybe three in the same time period.  I drink tea (iced tea, now that the weather is warmer) and water.  I can't begin to describe how much better I feel.  I'm not saying everyone should cut soda, but pay attention to how you feel.  It may be time for a change up!

Gardening: Boxes!

With our new place I've got oodles of space for gardening, and as such, I'm going to put in gardens!  My end goal is five 4'x8' boxes.  As of Sunday, I have two!  They're empty, they need leveling and such, but I'm super excited!!  Big thanks to my mother-in-law Candy for showing/helping me put them together!!

Progress to be posted as we get there!  Pictures to be posted soon  too :)

That's it for now.  Eat Happy!

Pizza: From Dough to Dinner

Nothing says Friday night....  

Pizza is one of the first things I learned to make.  I've had a long term love affair with the stuff; I blame it on my obsession with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a kid...haha.  When we were first in college, the Little Caesar's down the street saw a lot of us; lazy, broke students drove (and still drives) that location's business.

After dropping dairy, my pizza cravings were really bad.  I had to refine my pizza skills quite a bit to compensate!  There is ONE pizza place in Salt Lake with killer vegan pizza but it's expensive (amazing, but expensive).  My cheap side demands options.  My inner TMNT demands pizza.

The Dough

Let's start with the base.  Your dough is what holds your tasty toppings; you want it to be firm enough to hold but not tough.  There are quite a few good recipes out there!  My go-to is from All The Best Pizzas.  Joie Warner is a lot picker than I am when it comes to cooking, but he knows his crust!!  I will add when you let your dough rise, you can get the benefit of the oven preheating by putting the dough on the stove top; your dough will be happy and you aren't completely wasting the heat from the stove.  I haven't tried making it without the hour preheat for two reasons my old oven NEEDED an hour to reach temp or it was 25 degrees cold, and two, I raise bread on a preheated oven as a rule because the rise is stronger and the yeast is more active.  For a perfect crispy crust, a pizza stone is a must.  Preheat the stone, then put your shaped dough on it and add your toppings!

To shape your dough, use your hands.  You can use a rolling pin, but personally I've had better luck using my fingers and hands to shape and "roll" my dough.  My future pizza goal is to learn to toss!  In all honesty, use what works for you.  As long as your dough is uniform in thickness you should be just fine, regardless of how you got there!

The Sauce

Here's where I took a long time to learn the proper amount.  I finally paid attention to one of those chain pizza commercials and saw about how much sauce they actually put on...it was a fraction of what I was using.  When it comes to sauce, less is more...or you end up with pizza soup.

When it comes to the kind, it depends.  I've used jarred sauce without any issues, and I've used homemade. Season if you'd like.  Like most things in the kitchen, it's up to you.  The sauce in this picture is Prego.

The Toppings

I've put toppings here for a reason.  Most places put the toppings on top, and there is nothing wrong with this.  I have found that some toppings do better under the cheese than on top.  For example, mushrooms put under the cheese will stay softer than those baked on top.  It's a fun way to add mystery to your pizza...with enough cheese you can hide them anyway!

The Cheese

Like the sauce, less is more.  I go a little heavy handed when using the vegan cheese because it doesn't melt and spread like regular cheese.  However, when using real cheese, go light!!  It spreads a lot more than you think.  Cheese is awesome, but there is such a think as WAY too much.

The Toppings

Wait, haven't we done this?  Yes, but nothing says you have to do one way or the other.  In the pizza pictures I've posted here there is pepperoni under the cheese and on top.  Because I could!  If you are using fresh, minced garlic, it would be better on top.  Use your judgement and see what you can come up with!

The Baking

Now we bake!  Baking can be as versatile as the toppings.  The recipe I use the most calls for 5-8 minutes at 500 degrees.  If baking at a lower time, the time will be longer (common sense?).  Follow the recipe/directions and you should be ok.  I've found for thin crust, high heat and low temps are more likely to yield crispy crust without burning it.

The best part: Eating!

Slice and enjoy.  Yum!

That's it for tonight.  Eat Happy!

Cookie Karma and Pantry Progress

Cookie Karma

Last week my husband, Matt, was out of town with his unit.  As they were setting up he lost his phone.  I found out when his buddy let Matt use his phone to call me.  I got a call every night from the same number; his buddy let him call me from his phone.  I asked Matt to find out what his favorite cookies are and I'd make him a batch.  Turns out his favorite are sugar cookies, sans frosting.

I've made sugar cookies, but it's been a while....two or three years, at least.  The last time I made them was as a joint effort to the tune of five batches and enough cookies to cover my mom's counters, dining room table with both leaves, and two hutches.  This single batch has made 20 cookies so far and I have 1/3 of the dough left to bake!

The recipe is my great-grandmother's and is from an age where "mix ingredients" translated to order and individual steps beyond those two deceptively simple words.  There's an order, a rhythm, and if you go astray those cookies will turn out awful.  I'm happy to say the recipe converted to dairy free quite nicely; Earth Balance butter is a great substitute!!  The almond milk I used gave a nice light almond undertone to the cookies (and dough!).

I'm hoping Matt's buddy likes them as much as we do :)

Pantry in Progress

I mentioned at the last check in that I wanted to get containers before moving to the next phase.  I took

a tangent and decided to run measurement numbers first.  My pantry had a bunch of nails around the top that got my gears turning: could I move the shelves down and tackle two (or three) problem areas in one go?  The drawer my pans were stored in worked well enough, unless I needed the stock pan or the dutch oven; to get either of those I had to empty all of the other pans out first.  Then there was the large skillet; it wouldn't fit in the drawer, and had to go in a separate cupboard.  Then there were the lids, which mostly fit in a long, shallow drawer but had to be in there just so or it wouldn't close.  This culminated into a system that drove me absolutely batty every time I needed pans and/or lids.

I measured my two largest skillets, handles included, and worked with heights in the pantry.  My bottom shelf was as short as it could be, thanks to a pipe in the back of the pantry.  I measured bottles and storage containers, and decided all tall items would fit just fine on the bottom of the pantry.

Armed with a tape measurer and a pair of pliers, I rearranged the shelf heights.  I'll probably rearrange the contents again when I redo my spice cabinet (I have space I can use there).  The pantry is still not "done," but I'm happy with the domino effect to the rest of the kitchen!  I moved some of my casserole dishes to the drawer the pans were in, which let me put that cupboard in order; all of the lids are in there too, which freed up the long, shallow drawer they were in.  With that drawer empty, I put the specialty utensils (the apple corer I use to make tarts, the base for my ice cream maker--for the other stand mixer style--, the ravioli mold and mini roller...that kind of thing) in the drawer.  It's not in the main flow of the kitchen, but it's still accessible.  It also freed up loads of space for my main utensil drawer!  I can find things in there now!!


That's it for today.  Eat Happy!

Pantry, Pizza and Ice Cream

Chai Ice Cream

I'm going to a dinner party tomorrow with family; as the dessert is something loaded with dairy and wheat, I volunteered to make something both my brother and I could have.  With the warmer weather, I thought ice cream was in order.

I decided to google "ginger ice cream."  This gave me a lot of recipes that called for crumbling ginger snaps in pre-made vanilla ice cream.  I added "coconut" to the search field and kept looking.  After some sifting, I found an amazing recipe for Chai Ice
Cream here.  I haven't read this particular blog before, but I will be perusing the recipes after this one!   I took her recipe and modified it slightly; I used Chai tea instead of the black tea.  The spices just enhance the flavor.

I picked up some gluten/dairy free ginger snaps too to go with it.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Update:  I tasted this before it went into the freezer and I was skeptical.  The flavor was incredible the next day; I highly recommend letting this set in the freezer overnight to allow the flavors to develop.  I was also worried about ice crystals, as I did not use arrow root; I was pleasantly surprised there was a lack of ice crystals.  The texture was perfect after a few minutes warming on the counter.  Everyone raved about it, and the ginger snaps (gluten free, corn free, soy free and dairy free) made a great accompaniment!! This recipe is definitely a keeper!!  ~Nia 4/29/13

Portobello Mini Pizzas

I had an impulse at Costco this morning while grabbing spinach and baby bellas for my lunches.  They had these beautiful portobello "steaks" that were the size of my hand.  My adventurous side won, and I grabbed a four pack.  I've never cooked the big ones before, but I decided I wanted to live on the edge and try them.  I searched "portobello" in an app on my phone called Cornucopia (formerly Yummlite).  I found a recipe for appetizers using spinach and tomatoes and cheese; they looked pretty good.  Being a huge pizza fan, despite the cheese issue, my brain moved to pizza with how they looked.

I'll post my improv recipe when it's ready; it needs a lot of tweaking.  Needless to say though, it was super tasty!!  If you want the "baby" recipe before I post it, drop me a line.

Pantry In Progress

Tuesday night I emptied, purged, organized and inventoried my scary pantry.  I neglected to take before pictures...but I have some post-purge-in-progress shots.  Take my word for it, the pantry looks a lot better!!   I wrote down everything by category, and entered it into a spread sheet.  It let me filter by what needed a storage container, and that's where the money is!  I need 11 containers, seven of which are quart jars; a 12 pack of quart jars are $10-12 dollars.  They're cheap, they look nice, and they seal wonderfully.

 

Once everything has a nice air tight home I can move to the next phase: clear organization.  I've got some ideas, but I'll have to play around with the spaces before I'm ready to commit.  I'll post any progress as it happens!

 

That's it for tonight.

Eat Happy!

Pad Thai and My Pantry Project

Pad Thai

Dinner was Pad Thai tonight.  This is a staple dinner for me.  It's super easy, super quick, and filling.  Normally I use soba noodles, but I didn't have any in the pantry.  Instead, I used spiral pasta.  It was quite tasty!  If you're looking for something easy, this is it.  The base recipe I started with all those months ago was simple...and bland.  I've zinged it up a bit...which also added calories, because I upped the peanut butter too.  Even as a staple, I try to only make it once a month.  It makes a better backup than spaghetti with marinara; nothing against it, but variety in backups means we're less likely to eat out.

For the recipe, scroll to the bottom!

Pantry Projects

I love my kitchen in this house.  The only catch is I miss the plethora of pantry space in my old kitchen.  I have enough space, but the layout is more awkward.  As I have a little OCD, and my kitchen is a sore spot with me.  I've been itching to redo the cupboards.  I can't redo the kitchen in a permanent fashion (rental, you see) but I can change my food storage to match the new pantry.  I've gone from lots of shallow cupboards to one really deep one, and that takes a completely different approach.

I've searched images and scoured the web for inspiration.  I think I've finally figured out an approach...or at least, the first steps.  The biggest issue I'm having is I have no idea what's in there anymore, and not knowing what is there is a huge hurdle to organizing it.  I've made some simple spread sheets (think: graph paper lists) to document what I have, what needs a storage container, what needs just a simple container (like this can sorting idea), that kind of thing.  The hope is to have a newly organized pantry in the next couple weeks.

I'll post my progress!

That's it for tonight.

Eat Happy!

Pad Thai

• 2 bundles soba noodles or 3/4 cup cooked pasta

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1-2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1-3 tbs minced ginger

• 1/4 cup oil (olive, canola, vegetable)
• 2-4 eggs (do not pre-scramble)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper
• 1/2 cup mushrooms (Broccoli, sprouts, etc)

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• Hot sauce of your choice to taste
• Red pepper flakes for garnish

Let's get cooking:

1. Cook your pasta of choice per the package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a wok or deep skillet
3. Cook the chicken in the butter; when it is almost cooked through, add the ginger.
4. When the chicken is cooked, remove from the wok
5. Add the oil to the pan and heat
6. When the oil is hot, add the eggs and scramble in the oil (seriously, it makes a difference to scramble in the hot pan versus in a bowl)
7. As the eggs start to set, add the garlic and bell peppers and any other firm veggies.
8. Add the mushrooms and any other soft veggies before the eggs are completely set
9. Add the chicken to the mix, and add the sauce; stir to completely coat and incorporate sauce (the peanut butter will melt in the warm wok, just give it a little time and stir often
10. Toss with your pasta of choice; serve hot with red pepper flakes for more heat

Spontaneity

Baking on a Tuesday?

No joke, I decided to make cookies on a Tuesday.  I don't keep sweets in the house...mostly because I eat them.  When I'm craving sweets, it means I have to make them from scratch.  It makes me second guess if I actually want them too.

After seeing cookie posts from a friend yesterday on Facebook, and after craving sugar for a few days...I took the plunge and made peanut butter cookies.  With chunky peanut butter.  And shaved baking chocolate.  They are amazing!  I've never made these with chunky peanut butter....and while they're amazing with kisses squooshed into the top, the kisses are now off limits for me.  I improvised by grating some baking chocolate (big bricks of baking chocolate are safe from me...I'll munch on the chocolate/carob chips) into the batter and a little on top.

I had three, saved some for the hubby, and packaged the rest to take to work tomorrow.  I hope they appreciate them as much as I did.  They were worth the time!

Trial and Error

I'm trying to eat more veggies without drowning them in extra calories.  This meant that when I saw a "crunchy" cauliflower recipe, I wanted to give it a try.  It was a reminder that while all the ingredients sound delicious, the combination there-of might not be...it wasn't so bad I couldn't eat it, it just wasn't good enough for me to make it again.  I did find some alternatives for next time though!

Yesterday was a new chicken recipe that was a TOTAL winner!  Raspberry Chipotle chicken from Cooking Light.  Two words: 'amazing' and 'hot'!  And super easy.  I'm sure it would go really well with the cucumber salad in the recipe, but I'm not a cucumber person...I made Israeli Couscous pilaf instead.

Tonight was a new recipe too:  Blackened Shrimp Tacos (also from Cooking Light).  I can't decide on this one yet.  I misread the recipe for the garnish/sauce...which means I didn't have a dairy free alternative to substitute.  That being said, the coating on the shrimp was incredible!  I also roasted the cherry tomatoes, which gave a very nice flavor too.  I'll have to try it again with a closer following before I'll give a verdict...or take pictures, apparently.

That's it for tonight.

Eat Happy!  

Where's that Recipe?

Where's that Recipe?

If you search the web for recipe storage you'll get all sorts of results; boxes, websites, binders, bound books...the list goes on and on.  I thought about the card box: traditional, tried and true.  I had a binder (3" binder...yeah...) that I spent time printing oodles of recipes for when I moved out....that I never used... then a couple years back my mother-in-law got me some software called Living Cookbook.  Not only is this software super easy to use,  you can import recipes from the web (woot!), it gives the nutritional information (sometimes it's better not to know...haha!), and as if this isn't all awesome, it will let you print your own cookbook.  It will have a table of contents, index, and cover page...like so:

This is what the pages look like.  The ingredients and instructions are clear, the nutritional facts are easy to read, and print like this:

You can customize the colors (mine are purple and orange), and pretty much anything else you can think of, including sections and tags.  My personal favorite is the fact it will back up your files...which, in this day and age, is necessary.  I also like the fact that I can re-print any pages as needed.  Let's face it, cooking isn't clean, and we all know the recipes we use the most end up the most smeared and crunchy!

Having the search function in the software is nice too...especially when you've compiled.....ehm....over 160 pages of recipes and counting!

Check it out, it's well worth the money.  It makes sharing recipes easier too!!

That's it for this week.

Eat Happy!